ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My deepest appreciation goes out to Mary Ann Viafore. She was gracious with her time and with her heart. Talking with her about her son provided me with valuable information and with a sense that, on a basic level, I knew Vinny as a person. I send her my fervent wishes for healing. As a mother, I can only imagine the tremendous pain of her loss.

Thanks to Sean Von Clauss, Stacey Speirs Deneve, Amanda Bopp, and Kimberly Phillips for sharing the memories of Vince. And also to Mike Colvin, Joel Goss, and Sorluna de Butterfly for imparting their recollections of Angelika.

I also appreciate the hard work of Senior Investigator Aniello Moscato, Investigator Donald DeQuarto, and three court reporters: Yvonda Fantroy, Michael DeCelestino, and Cathy Morales.

For invaluable research assistance, I bow deeply to Mary Elizabeth Ciambotti. I am in your debt.

Thanks to Charlie Spicer, Executive Editor at St. Martin’s Press, for sticking with me when it went awry, and to Sarah Grill, who helped me beat this manuscript into submission.

Finally, to my incredible agent of eighteen years, Jane Dystel of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret—without her support, I would not have my long list of published books. And to my wonderful cheerleaders, writer friend Betsy Ashton and Wayne Fanning, the one man capable of keeping me balanced when the sky is falling.